Scientists have developed a robotic rat.
Scientists have developed a robotic rat
The four-legged bot, called SQuRo (small-sized quadruped robotic rat) is able to crouch, stand, walk, crawl and turn just as a real rat does and is even capable of carrying a load equal to 91 per cent of its own weight.
The team from the Beijing Institute of Technology hope that the rat bot will be useful for squeezing into small gaps during search and rescue missions.
According to the experts, the rodents have been a key inspiration for many developers when it comes to robotics and the team tried to mimic their ability to fit into tight spaces with the device.
They explained: "Rats that live in caves have attracted a great amount of attention owing to their unrivalled agility and adaptability.
"Lots of efforts have been made trying to mimic the morphology or motion characteristics of rats."